


It's All in Your Head

by firelord65



Series: Fecky's Whumptober Oneshots [26]
Category: Divergent (Movies), Divergent Series - Veronica Roth
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Headaches & Migraines, Slice of Life, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:49:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27257458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firelord65/pseuds/firelord65
Summary: Eric's day is made worse by a migraine. Lauren offers what she can to help.
Relationships: Eric & Lauren (Divergent)
Series: Fecky's Whumptober Oneshots [26]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1950469
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	It's All in Your Head

**Author's Note:**

> Whumptober Day 26: If You Thought the Head Trauma Was Bad - Migraine | ~~Concussion | Blindness~~

Everything was blue. Even after escaping Erudite to join Dauntless, Eric was still surrounded by it. Jeanine's influence was far-reaching what with the faction hungrily snatching up any and all technical developments that the scientists and engineers could dish out.

Mostly however today his gripe was with the blue lights that punctuated every juncture of the halls. On a normal day they might just contribute to Eric's poor sleeping habits. Today they were salt in the wound that was his headache. When he'd left his room this morning it was just a dull throb in the back of his skull. Nothing terrible. A small thing like that wasn't going to keep him from his duties especially as a Leader.

As the day made the slow turn to afternoon, Eric found himself in the cafeteria with his palm pressed to his forehead and an untouched plate in front of him. When he had gone through line he had hoped that his usual liking for the brisket sandwiches would coax an appetite from him. Now that he was sitting down he didn't even want to look at the food on his plate.

He heard the gentle clatter of another tray being set down across from him. "Not in the mood today," Eric growled quietly. The pain from earlier was now dug deep. Keeping his eyes shut at least stopped the twinges that came from the lighting.

"Figured you'd look less lonely if you had company, bossman," Lauren replied cheerfully. The sound of utensils scratching on the ceramic plate made Eric grind his teeth.

He held his tongue however. Lauren was one of the few people who had ticked over to his "friend?" column in his internal list. He grunted in appreciation and dared to peel his eyes back open. Immediately his grimace returned as he yet again looked down at his food.

Lauren eyed him in a measured fashion while she chewed. Unlike him she had selected a salad and a fruit cup for her lunch. Eric wasn't jealous - even that bland food made his stomach churn now - but it was definitely the smarter choice long-term. "Not hungry?" she remarked.

Eric shook his head. "Nauseous," he admitted.

She bobbed her head and stabbed her salad once more. "Sorry to hear that," she said, sounding genuine. Eric didn't feel the need to defend his pride either. It was another small effort he could make for her. Someone else pitying the faction Leader would get a sharp tongued retort. "You want some antacid?" Lauren offered.

"What, do you just have a kit in your pocket?" Eric said with a laugh. He remembered how his parents would have a pill jar with them any time that they were out of the house. Overprepared but always underappreciated when inevitably he or his sister needed the meds.

Lauren leaned back to dig through one of her pants pockets. Then she flipped a pouch at him with a tiny red and white cross embroidered on it. Eric couldn't stop the chuckle. "Don't say it," Lauren warned. "I am _not_ the Initiate' mom, but I also know it's way easier to shut them up if I've got whatever they're bellyaching about to get out of drills."

Eric held up a hand in surrender. "I wasn't going to mock you," he replied earnestly. He slid the pouch back to her side of the table. "Just don't think it'll help. It's a migraine about to hit full force. I wouldn't want to waste your stuff." He surprised himself with just how much he was laying out to Lauren. Clearing his throat, Eric sank back behind his usual, comfortable barriers. Work. They should get back to just talking about work.

"How goes the post-Initiation lull?" he asked. He picked up his sandwich and brought it to his mouth, trying very much so to delude himself into thinking he was just going to eat it. The smell of barbeque sauce rose and immediately made him wince. Down the sandwich went again.

Pointing with her pinky finger, Lauren said, "Bet you can have one of the kitchen crew wrap that up for you for later. Toaster oven in Jenny and I's digs works pretty well most nights."

Eric dusted his hands off and nudged the tray to the side. If he was nauseated now and didn't lie down in the next hour or so he would be throwing himself into the worst of it headfirst. "Honestly, I might not even get to it tonight," he admitted with a tired sigh. His schedule was packed from one until way past seven. A nap was _not_ on the table for him. The best he hoped for at this point was being able to crawl into his dark bedroom some time before nine.

Lauren frowned and Eric could see the wheels turning in her head. "Don't worry about it," he said, intending to cut off whatever she was considering. "I'm used to it. I'm not exactly starving."

She chewed on her lip before returning to her salad. "Alright," she replied. She wasn't convinced and neither was Eric. After popping another forkful of veg into her mouth, Lauren said, "To answer your earlier question - which is hilarious by the way; there's no such thing as a lull here and you know that better than I do - everyone is exceedingly peppy. Even after cuts which always baffles me. I guess the euphoria at sticking the landing hangs around for a while."

Eric chuckled even as he covered his eyes again. There was just the _barest_ hint of those damn light spots in his eyes that came sometimes. One of the doctors had said they were exasperated by the constant blue lighting in Dauntless' tunnels and had encouraged Eric to spend more time in his own room or the offices where he would be able to control his environment better. Thankfully the little spots - aura, the doc called them - probably wouldn't last all the way through his next meeting.

He was getting distracted though and not paying attention to Lauren's generously polite conversation. She had last mentioned… oh, right. "You're talking like you don't remember what you felt after you got Initiated fully," he commented.

She hesitated before answering, perhaps intentionally or perhaps because she was finishing another bite of her food. Eric couldn't tell which it was. "Would it be smart of me to admit that I spent a lot of that time celebrating with my cousins who thought the best way to mark the occasion was tats and booze?" she finally said. "They were convinced that I would be the first in the family to get cut. I was a bit insulted, to be honest!"

Eric barked a laugh and peeked one eye out from under his palm. "So _that's_ why your mother looked like she was going to murder you as soon as anyone left you alone with her."

Lauren flushed but laughed as well. "Guilty," she admitted.

The pain returned in a rush, sending Eric running back to the artificial darkness behind his hands. "Still, I think that means you should understand all too well what the new fodder is feeling. They're happy. Let them enjoy it before they realize all the work that's to come."

"Yessir," she replied good naturedly. The clatter of silverware on ceramic had finally died down, a welcomed relief to Eric's ears. The rest of the caf was emptying as the hour came to a close. He heard Lauren stand up and gather her tray. "I'm gonna get this wrapped up for you. Be right back," she said.

When Eric sputtered in protest, she just kept walking, her figure shimmering in the aura that was definitely not going away. Eric groaned to himself but couldn't find himself actually bothered by her gesture. He still didn't think that he was going to get to enjoy it tonight, but it was still more kind than he had expected.

The little question mark vanished from his mental category for Lauren. Not that he would tell her, of course. Not yet.


End file.
